Last week, Governor Maura Healey introduced her Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget proposal, which includes major funding for the state’s early education and care sector! The Governor’s budget, referred to as H.1, provides a historic investment of nearly $1.5 billion in funding for the early education and care sector.

Here are some of the key investments the Governor's budget makes. We need your help to make sure that these investments stay in the final budget.

●      $475 million to provide direct-to-provider operations grants, which have been critical to keeping child care programs open, preserving affordability for families, and raising educator wages.

●     $774 million to provide child care financial assistance for low-income families, including families receiving services or supports from DTA and DCF.

●     $30 million for the Commonwealth Partnership for Preschool Initiative, to support expansion of high-quality, publicly funded preschool access.

●     $25 million to expand the reach of child care financial assistance dedicated to reducing the existing wait list. The Administration estimates that these funds will expand access to 2,200 new families.

●     $10 million for professional development and career pathways initiatives for early educators, including higher-education pathways to attaining advanced credentials.

●     $20 million for a rate increase for both center-based and family child care providers serving children with EEC financial assistance.

●     $5 million for early childhood mental health supports and services for children and early education professional, reflecting a $1.5M increase above FY23 funding.

We are mobilizing #childcarevoters to call on the Legislature to make sure all of these investments - and more - stay in the final FY24 state budget!